Ingredients
1 Large Zucchini
1 Lb Ground Pork (or turkey, beef, Lightlife plant-based ground protein)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves (minced fresh or from a jar)
1/4 of a Red Onion
1 Jar Bruschetta (I use Classico, appx 400ml jar)
½ Jar Sundried Tomato Pesto (240 ml jar)
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
⅓ Cup Crumbled Feta
2 Tbsp Shredded/Grated Parmesan
½ Cup Ricotta
1 Bunch Ripped Kale
6-8 Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
Total Cook and Prep Time: 60 minutes
Make Appx: 6-8 Servings
Note: To slice the zucchini into lasagna noodles you will require a mandolin, vegetable peeler, or I actually used a cheese slicer. I found the cheese slicer actually allowed me to make thinner noodles - whereas the thinnest setting on my mandolin tends to break them.
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a large frying pan on medium heat with olive oil, allow 2 minutes for oil to heat.
Add minced garlic to the pan and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Add chopped red onion to the oil and garlic.
Add ground meat to the pan and break it into pieces with a spatula, continue to flip and mix the ground meat as it cooks.
Once meat is mostly browned, add jar of bruschetta and reduce the burner to low to allow the sauce to simmer. Place a lid on the pan if you have one (the sauce should just cover the meat, one difference in this recipe is that I limited the sauce to ensure the finished lasagna is not watery).
Allow the sauce to simmer while you prepare the zucchini noodles - approximately 7-10 minutes.
Chop each end off the zucchini and grab either a mandolin slicer (and set it to the thinnest setting) or simply use a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer. A key difference in this updated recipe version is the zucchini was sliced as thinly as possible. It helps to reduce the excess water produced by the zucchini. Slice the zucchini into strips, you will want enough “noodles” to make three layers in whatever size casserole dish you are using.
Pull out your casserole dish and lay down and layer as follows:
Layer One - Zucchini noodles to cover the bottom of the dish, half of the meat and sauce, feta, and a dash of parmesan.
Layer Two - Zucchini noodles, topped with 1/3 of the mozzarella, the remaining meat/sauce mixture, spoon half the ricotta across the meat layer along with the sun dried tomato pesto and three basil leaves.
Layer Three - Add a layer of ripped kale, spoon the remaining ricotta on top of the kale, and another 1/3 of the mozzarella.
Layer Four - Cover with the last layer of zucchini noodles, followed by the remaining mozzarella, parmesan and basil leaves.
Place the entire casserole dish in the oven and let it bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, top cheese she be bubbling and browned.
Note: you can freeze the whole Lasagna after assembling it (and before baking it). i recommend using a tinfoil pan if you plan to freeze it. when you are ready to eat just take out of the freezer and bake from frozen for approximately 60-75 minutes. if cooking from thawed, 45 minutes should suffice.
Zucchini Lasagna 3.0
Ingredients
1 Large Zucchini
1/2 Lb Ground Pork
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves (minced fresh or from a jar)
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Small Yellow Onion
3/4 Cup Baby Tomatoes (sliced in half)
1 Jar Bruschetta (appx 400ml jar)
1.5 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
⅓ Cup Basil Goat Cheese (or plain goat cheese and 4-6 basil leaves)
2 Tbsp Shredded/Grated Parmesan
1 Bunch Ripped Kale
Instructions
Total Cook and Prep Time: 60 minutes
Make Appx: 6-8 Servings
Note: To slice the zucchini into lasagna noodles you will require a mandolin, vegetable peeler, or I actually used a cheese slicer. I found the cheese slicer actually allowed me to make thinner noodles - whereas the thinnest setting on my mandolin tends to break them.
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a large frying pan on medium heat with olive oil, allow 2 minutes for oil to heat. Add minced garlic chili flakes to the oil and simmer until fragrant (approximately 2 minutes).
Slice baby tomatoes in half while garlic is simmering.
Add 1/2 lb of thawed, raw ground meat to the frying pan along with the sliced baby tomatoes. Continue to flip and mix the ground meat as it cooks, keeping an eye on the pan while you prepare the other ingredients.
While meat is cooking, chop each end off the zucchini and grab either a mandolin slicer (and set it to the thinnest setting) or simply use a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer. A key difference in this updated recipe version is the zucchini was sliced as thinly as possible. It helps to reduce the excess water produced by the zucchini. Slice the zucchini into strips, you will want enough “noodles” to make three layers in whatever size casserole dish you are using.
Once meat is mostly browned, add jar of bruschetta and reduce the burner to low to allow the sauce to simmer. Place a lid on the pan if you have one (the sauce should just cover the meat, one difference in this recipe is that I limited the sauce to ensure the finished lasagna is not watery).
Allow the sauce to simmer for 7-10 minutes while you rip kale bunch into small pieces and shred mozzarella.
Once meat sauce is cooked, pull out your casserole dish and lay down and layer as follows:
Layering Tip: keep the contents in each layer minimal and press down on top of the zucchini noodles on each layer to create a better overall lasagna texture. The reduced amount of meat in this recipe ensures the meat sauce is not too thick.
Layer One - Zucchini noodles to cover the bottom of the dish, a little less than half of the meat and sauce, and one third of the mozzarella.
Layer Two - Zucchini noodles, half of the ripped kale, half of the goat cheese (ripped apart and dispersed on top of the kale), and a small handful of shredded mozzarella.
Layer Three - Zucchini noodles, almost all of the remaining meat sauce (leave about 1/2 cup to top the lasagna), ripped kale, remaining goat cheese, and another handful of mozzarella.
Layer Four - Cover with the last layer of zucchini noodles, followed by the remaining meat sauce, kale, mozzarella, parmesan and basil leaves if you have them.
Place the entire casserole dish in the oven and let it bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, top cheese she be bubbling and browned.
